News and Media Releases

National 811 Day on August 11 (8/11)

08/06/2012

National 811 Day on August 11 (8/11) serves as a reminder for everyone to call 811 48-72 hours prior to digging to identify the approximate location of underground utility lines.

Utility services that your family depends on, such as cable TV, high-speed Internet, landline telephone, electric, gas, water and sewer, are buried underground in many communities. Striking one of these lines can result in inconvenient outages for entire neighborhoods, harm to yourself or someone else, and repair costs.

No matter the type of project – installing a mailbox, putting in a fence, planting trees or shrubbery, building a patio or deck, or excavating a new garden area – make sure to call 811 several days prior to digging to have your site properly marked, and remind your friends and family to do the same. Always call 811 before you dig and know what’s below.

Here’s how it works:

One free, simple phone call to 811 makes it easy for the local one call center to notify all appropriate utility companies of your intent to dig.

Call at least two-three days prior to digging to ensure enough time for utility lines to be properly marked.

When you call 811, a representative from the local one call center will ask for the location and description of your digging project.

The local one call center will notify affected utility companies, who will then send a professional locator to the proposed dig site to mark the approximate location of the lines.

Once lines have been properly marked, roll up those sleeves and carefully dig around the marked areas.

This year, we want to encourage you to take The 811 Promise in celebration of 8/11 Day. The 811 Promise website was created by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) to promote the safe digging message and encourage visitors to promise to always make a free call to 811 a few days before digging.